All posts by Trevor Van Weeren

Milingimbi Petition

Towards the end of our work in Milingimbi, one of the key Yolŋu with whom we had been working (and with whom we had worked with before), decided that the number of issues which had arisen in the course of our work (the role of police, homelands, doing ranger work, health and education, the Yolŋu way, etc) had coalesced to the point of demanding community-wide attention. The way that he dealt with this was to call a community meeting. The term that he used to describe the beginning of the process was wäŋa way’yun, literally the land crying out calling the people to attention. This land-calling was enabled by a community loud-speaker. It seemed that the many small items of daily concern we were addressing – the emergence of a women’s group for example – had developed such critical mass that the place as much as its people was demanding attention. The result was a great deal of community discussion and a large community meeting with the development of a petition to government signed by many residents.

The petition which raised a good number of issues of concern seemed to cause some flurry in Darwin a quick response from Police (a successful community engagement visit), a promised visit from the Chief Minister and a letter from the Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs. Each issue was addressed separately with a referral to this or that department or individual to deal with the concern, so the response did have the effect of dispersing the collective concern of the place into a range of directions, each of which would need to be explored separately. Wäŋa way’yun was not something that we saw as part of our governance and leadership program, but it clearly was an effect of it. We were asked to support the making of the petition, ie translating what people had said into English and putting it into a letter and helping with learning about petitions as a democratic governance technology. And it helped clarify directions in which further work could proceed.

Download Milingimbi Makarr Garma Petition pdf

MilingimbiMeeting-Petition1

ALPA field trip

After becoming registered as an Aboriginal Corporation the group became much more visible. ALPA organised for the new Directors to visit their operations in both Ramingining and Milingimbi. CDU facilitators were working in Milingimbi and managed to catch up with them there. It was a good opportunity to see how ALPA were running their RJCP programs, and to practice representing the interests of Gapuwiyak. Good Governance needs to be practiced and experienced in many formats. Below is a small report we made about the trip.

ALPA Field Trip Report
ALPA Field Trip Report

Nyäḻka Womens group

Early on in the project we connected with various women who told us about the long history of women’s groups in Milingimbi since the mission days. Women are strongly involved through the health clinic and the school. The women we spoke with were all very keen to do some work around governance. During a trip to Alice Springs to attend a healing conference the women also visited the WALTJA Aboriginal Corporation. With a focus on families and Aboriginal services delivery this organisation was inspiring for the women from Milingimbi. We had many meetings and workshops looking at how to  develop the governance skills required to take on such an initiative. This work has been documented in the Story of the Nyäḻka Milingimbi Women’s Aboriginal Corporation.

The story of the Nyäḻka Milingimbi Women's Aboriginl Corporation
The story of the Nyäḻka Milingimbi Women’s Aboriginl Corporation

The story of Goŋ-Ḏäl

In Gapuwiyak various elders were interested in the opportunity that this project provided. We started with looking at Yolŋu governance practices and thought about how they could be made more visible. Discussions around governance led to telling stories about how and by whom Gapuwiyak was established. The group talked about how they saw a storm coming and that it was time to ‘clean up out own backyard’. Practicing Balanda Governance was seen as an important part of this work. Through developing and growing an Aboriginal Corporation an opportunity presented itself to learn about Balanda Governance by doing it. The Gapuwiyak steering group agreed that it was a way to play the Balanda business game.  We documented this story which can be downloaded below.

Download the story of the development of the Goŋ-Ḏäl Aboriginal Corporation
Download the story of the development of the Goŋ-Ḏäl Aboriginal Corporation

Gurruṯu map

We have been working on mapping the Gurruṯu at Gapuwiyak.

Gurruṯu continues to be the Yolngu ‘governance environment’ par excellence. The domain of governance is the management of relationships, both mundane and ceremonial, between groups at various levels of articulation from the very local to the regional. (Morphy)

We started with a spreadsheet [Gapuwiyak Baparru Mala xls] listing all the clans, their language, places, leaders etc. The spreadsheet is a work in progress. We took the information from the spreadsheet and made a design for a poster with it. The central section of the poster is the land with some of its names. The information under each clan is specific to a place or places.  After trying a version of the poster with all the information in it we decided a better way would be to leave the information blank and just leave the categories. This way we could involve people in putting their information in themselves, or go and see elders if they didn’t know all the details. We have also been thinking about making a large poster to put at the store and how we could work with it at the school.

GawuraGapuwiyakMap5

 

Yolŋu Governance

Yolŋu Governance

Gawura Wanambi Recording 2 May 2014

This is how I saw Yolŋu governance and Yolŋu mägaya rom (peace law) when I saw old people doing it, when I came to this world. This is my story about yolngu mägaya rombuy, my story about Yolŋu governance, djaga rom.

Our people used to pay a lot of respect to each other. Everyone had one mind, one way of thinking and one vision, they were living in harmony. It was a good free life and people were hunting and gathering for each other. Gathering in ceremonies. At night they would tell stories and plan for the next day about what to do and where to go. They were all understanding each other in every way.

Teaching of everything was an important part governance for our old peoples way of living. Teaching of our culture and heritage, teaching our way of hunting, and gathering food The teaching of talking and planning, being taught about what is good and bad and what the cause of it is. Teaching about how to cut animals, like kangaroo, emu, turtle and fish. Teaching about all the names for the parts of the animals that are being cut. Teaching about the seasons and what it brings, the flowers that bloomed and what it meant.

Our old people were aware of the hard ways, such as a young man running away with a chosen or a promised woman that belonged to another man, family arguments, jealousy, trespass in ceremony and trouble from another clan group of people, they also were aware of the payback law in Makarrata. Sometimes bad things happened between them, but they solved the problem straight away, without leaving anything, our old people don’t leave any problems hidden in the Yolŋu Magaya rom. One thing that gets to them is when a group from another clan gets close to them and makes trouble.

Our old people did have the policing rom (law), court and justice rom, and penalty rom for the wrong doings. They had the discipline rom (raypirri). Our people didn’t have the law for domestic violence, or restraining order, just the law of not letting these bad things happen between families and between husbands and wives.

There was a law of giving a young person some discipline, one way was through talking and teaching and sometimes through giving a bit of a hiding to the child, not a very hard one, just a little one.

Nowadays we are not allowed to lay our hands on a child, even to our own children. If we do we end up in court or jail.

Some of our people that used to do wrong in the Yolŋu mägaya law are being put into ceremony to be disciplined.  They are kept in these ceremonies, sometimes for more than a year. All this is Yolŋu mägaya rom, Yolŋu governance, Yolŋu policing rom, Yolŋu penalty rom for the wrong-doings. These rom or laws were happening and are still here, these rom were and ar every tough, strong and sharp, same as like the law from Balanda. Blanda law keeps changing all the time, but Yolŋu rom doesn’t change.

Our old people have been using this Yolŋu governance rom from the the start until Balanda law came. Some ways were forgotten; changes of ways, changing of the law, change of clothing, change of government, change of the law, made us forget our Yolŋu mägaya rom. This law is hidden somewhere here within us. We Yolŋu of this generation needs to awaken this Governance law that our old people have been using .

This law somehow got locked up in us. It disappeared, its not far from us, but we can bring it back and put it into action. It is our law, its not for Balanda so we Yolŋu, ourselves, need to do it.

We want the Balanda to see that we have governance law and its not new and has never changed. It has been with us from the time the first Yolŋu settled in this country.

We want Balanda governance to recognise our Yolngu governance. Whatever the rom or law the Balanda has and is using, we the Yolŋu have the same, governing, court, penalty and justice. What we want for Yolŋu and Balanda governance law to meet and recognise and understand each other, work together and share the dreams and visions together.

We are all humans, one god created us and gave us our ways and laws to live with and work with whether we are black, white, red or chinese, we are all humans created by one god. He gave everyone the knowledge and wisdom, he didn’t create anyone without knowledge and wisdom he wanted everyone to look after each other, care for each other, respect each other, so everyone could care for each other and respect each other.

Let us understand each other, Yolŋu and Balanda and working together. He created everyone to be level, not one side higher than another. People all around the world have governance, Yolŋu, Indian, Chinese, Kiwi, Eskimo, every race. They have their different governance law. It doesn’t matter if they do it in different ways, it all means one thing, it means the same, for all to look after each teaching, sharing, respecting, working and understanding together. So let us all Yolŋu and Balanda work together

Gawura Wanambi.

 

Wäŋa Gurruṯu Mapping

This is an interesting and valuable activity which developed out of a conversation with one of the TOs and was subsequently taken up by Matthew Dhulumburrk and other Elders. The name translates roughly as ‘Land Kinship Mapping’ and can be illustrated by the map for the Ramingining township area.

The activity shown itself to be particularly valuable to Yolŋu as it is a way (albeit 2D and lacking the dynamic richness of the complex relationships continually being re-enacted in Yolŋu society), of illustrating that the simple notion of one group of ‘Land Owners’ or TOs, is just plain wrong, and is even offensive to Yolŋu.

The maps show that for any particular estate, while there is a clan who has inherited that land from their father (and are know as the wäŋawataŋu = land owners) there are also clans which call that land their mother (ŋäṉḏi), grandmother (märi), etc. They in turn are the ŋäṉḏiwataŋu (the owners who call the land ŋäṉḏi/mother), märiwataŋu (owners who call the land märi/granmother), etc.

IGLDP in Wurrumiyanga

Introduction

Welcome to Wurrumiyanga
Welcome to Wurrumiyanga

Work in Wurrumiyanga has been carried out differently across the two stages of this project. The first stage took the form of a consultation process where members of the local community sat down to discuss their concerns, interests and understandings of Western and Tiwi governance in Wurrumiyanga. The second stage is taking place as a series of workshops which couple community development and empowerment with an emphasis on the strengthening of governance and leadership capacities within the community.

Tanyah Nasir – Rise Up facilitator

I was invited to be the IGLDP worker on the ground at Wurrumiyanga due to my long experience working with Indigenous individuals and organisations in the past. I have worked with Indigenous people and Tiwi people across the Northern Territory over the past 30 years with an education, employment and training context. Recently I have worked with Tiwi people whilst delivering the TNCS Rise Up Program, Be Your Best, Own your Future, in Darwin and at Wurrumiyanga.

Even though I have family and cultural connections to some families at Tiwi, I undertake this project as an outsider however, I understand that my relationships will impact and influence how people respond to me.

I have been intentionally very broad in whom I talk to, as well as what I talk to them about, as this provides people with the opportunity to engage, connect, participate and feel valued and listened to. They are able to share their thoughts without judgment or repercussions. Beginning this project I took a “Tell Us the Story from your perspective … as a worker and as a community member” approach to opening up discussion and allowing people to discuss what they would like regarding governance and leadership.

Stage 1

Stage 1 of this project initially involved meeting with people (Tiwi and non-Tiwi) that I already had an existing personal and professional relationship with, seeking their advice, guidance and support on how to proceed, who I needed to talk to and how to move the project forward in an inclusive and respectful manner.

Local Tiwi people were happy to meet in their spare time to share their knowledge to help me understand the governance and leadership at work at Wurrumiyanga. At initial discussions the employment of local Tiwi people was highlighted as a way of developing and strengthening relationships and shared ownership of the project. Similarly, the people I spoke to were very committed to the development of their town and local Tiwi people and were very enthusiastic in advocating their own interests.

Everyone that participated did so willingly and has generously given their time to share their knowledge and perspectives. People are generally interested in the project and see it as a way of developing their understanding about governance and leadership and the current western structures and they also see the project as an opportunity to highlight Tiwi Ways/Tiwi Governance.

A major concern which kept being highlighted and referred to was the way in which Tiwi practices of decision making and ways of handling disputes and resolving conflict were not formally recognised or properly implemented in western governance structures. Responding to these concerns, Ponki Mediation and Skin Group processes offered a starting point for future discussions and workshops to be carried out as Stage 2 of the project.

Stage 2

The first set of workshops was held on the 11, 12 and 13th of November, 2014.

These workshops drew on a community development foundation, and worked to empower local Tiwi community members to share their knowledge and understanding about Tiwi governance and western governance and leadership, and to voice their concerns and aspirations in front of other community members. It was emphasised that the workshop was like a ‘community’ meeting – with everyone together, how it used to be. And this is what people feel is needed.

In preparing for the workshops a number of organisations in Wurrumiyanga were contacted and consulted with these included the TIRC, Local Authority, TITEB, Red Cross, PM and C and the NTG Department of Health as well as individual local Tiwi people.

Wurr-2The purpose of the workshops was to discuss and unpack the following:

  • Identify and discuss the existing organisations, businesses and service providers at Wurrumiyanga
  • Local Authority
  • Tiwi Island Regional Council
  • Tiwi Way/Tiwi governance
  • Skin Groups
  • Ponki Mediation

At the same time, these workshops offer the opportunity for Tiwi people to begin ‘driving’ the agenda as the day unfolds. For example, in one of the workshops it was obvious that a community leader wanted to take advantage of and maximize the opportunity where his people were ‘listening deeply’ and were engaged with the topic and respectfully and tactfully steered the discussion to where he believed needed to be consolidated.

We initiated a number of exercises in which people mapped out and told their stories of both Tiwi and other forms of governance and leadership in Wurrumiyanga, including the many different organisations, councils and boards, as well as how each of these works and the roles that people adopt within them.

We then worked to extend understandings of the roles and functions of these organisations, the connections between them, and how local Tiwi could use them effectively to benefit Tiwi. There were a number of local leaders who were able to assist and guide this learning, while also modelling learning relationships between older generations and the youth.

We would like to thank everyone who attended the workshops. Their knowledge and stories were very much appreciated and valued.
We would like to thank everyone who attended the workshops. Their knowledge and stories were very much appreciated and valued.

 

Contact

For further information please contact Tanyah Nasir tnasir@westnet.com.au

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Milingimbi Council presentation

Milingimbi Council meetingOn the 9th April 2014, we presented a report on stage 1 and 2 of the Governance and Leadership project, to the Community Advisory Board of the East Arnhem Shire in Milingimbi. The report reiterated the goals of the project and reminded people about who was involved. It gave a brief outline of what we had done in stage 1 and sketched out the areas we planned to work on in stage 2. It included some pictures of meetings we had, and a detailed illustration of the sorts of activities we would be doing in stage 2. It was a busy meeting with Power and Water also presenting (see image) an employment project aimed at reducing water consumption, and enhancing reporting processes.

Download a pdf of the Powerpoint presentation here Milingimbi Stage 1-2 Report

Project Reports can be found on the Resources page